This invention relates in general to automotive seat assemblies and, more specifically, to an automotive front seat assembly.
Lateral bolsters incorporated into vehicular seats have grown in popularity since they contribute significantly to both the comfort and safety of the vehicle occupants. In order to accommodate occupants having varied effective widths and in order to obtain the proper lateral separation between the occupant and the lateral bolster for imparting the greatest protective ability of the bolsters, vehicular seats have been constructed so that the effective distance between the bolster sections are made variable and adjustable to provide the proper support and comfort for the particular Occupant of the vehicle seat. One known method for adjusting the bolsters is to adjust the lateral position of each bolster section by a hand wheel which, upon rotation, causes the associated bolster section to move relative to its associated backrest portion. In this manner, the distance between the adjusted bolster section and the bolster section mounted at the opposite side of the backrest portion can be varied. The other bolster section may be individually adjusted by its own handwheel in a similar fashion.
Such a method for varying the distance between a pair of corresponding bolster sections is not only complicated but also time-consuming in that each of the 10 bolster sections must be individually adjusted to obtain the proper distance therebetween.
Another known method for variably adjusting the lateral position of each bolster section provides a pair of movable lateral bolster sections wherein adjustment means are provided for selectively and simultaneously moving both of the bolster sections in a controlled fashion between a first lateral support position and a second lateral support position.
Yet another known method utilizes a backrest containing a spring core which has forwardly curved lateral side supports which form the lateral bolsters. In order to adjust the lateral bolsters, the spring core is deformed as a whole by inflation of air cushions to increase or decrease the amount of curvature of the lateral side supports.
However, it would be advantageous to have a design which is fabricated of a minimum of components which are universally used in seats from model to model which retains the ability to individually adjust the bolsters while minimizing the complexity and number of moving parts required to do so.
Typically, each of the components comprising seat assemblies for a vehicle must be independently mounted into the vehicle, that is to the vehicle floor pan. More specifically, the seat bottom and scat back are mounted to a pair of tracks which must then be mounted to the vehicle floor pan for each individual scat assembly--Additionally, the front scat assemblies for automobiles are typically designed for each specific model of automobile and are typically only usable in that model. The seat assembly for each model is fabricated from components specifically designed for that particular scat assembly and the seat assemblies for opposite sides of the vehicle frequently differ, sometimes requiring the two seats to be installed in the vehicle in separate operations.
The parent application for the present application discloses a scat frame assembly for a vehicle which includes a minimum of components which may be utilized in seats for various different models of vehicles. In furtherance of the trend toward minimizing components which are used in seats from model to model, and in furtherance of the trend towards the use of universal seat components which can be used in seats from model to model, it would be advantageous to have a vehicle seat assembly in which components such as the scat portion of a vehicle seat assembly can be designed in a modular fashion to be utilized in combination with a universal seat support and frame assembly. Additionally, in traditional seat construction, a contoured foam pad which is used to give shape and provide comfort to the seat assembly is molded prior to assembly of the seat portion. However, it would be further advantageous to have a vehicle seat assembly in which the necessity for pre-molding of the foam pad is eliminated.
The trend towards making vehicle seat assemblies more universal and/or modular utilizing a basic or universal seat frame assembly and then to attach the desired support or cushion members thereto touches all aspects of the seat assembly. Since the basic or universal seat frame assembly must be small enough to fit into the smallest model car, when the basic or universal seat frame assembly is utilized in a larger car, it may be necessary for the support or cushion members to have a dimension which exceeds the boundaries of the underlying frame assembly which can cause the support or cushion members to deform under load at points which are not directly supported by the underlying seat frame assembly. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a vehicle seat back and seat bottom support which is constructed in such a way so as to maintain its ability to accommodate different sized seat backs or seat bottoms without becoming deformed under load when used in combination with the basic or universal seat frame assembly. Additionally, it would be advantageous to have a simplified method for constructing such a support member of cushion.